"Mark Jackson has had a big impact on the improvement of our team and the success that we've had over the last couple of years

"Nonetheless, we must make some difficult decisions in our day-to-day operations of the club and this would certainly qualify as one of those examples. We wish Mark the best of luck in his future endeavors and thank him for his contributions over the last three years."

What happens next? GM Bob Myers is slated to discuss the firing and all end-season topics later this afternoon.

Then the Warriors will go about a search for a new head coach, which I was told earlier today would be thorough and probably not superfast.

Former Suns general manager and current NBA analyst Steve Kerr could be a candidate to replace Mark Jackson as the Warriors' new coach. (Associated Press)

One source agreed that TNT broadcaster Steve Kerr's name has come up, mostly because he has ties to Joe and Kirk Lacob from years back, and because Warriors management believes Kerr would run a much more fluid offense than Jackson's.

But the source cautioned that the Warriors might not want to hire back-to-back coaches with no experience on the sidelines and that Kerr is probably headed to the Knicks, anyway.

Other names I've heard on a probable Warriors shortlist:

Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg;

Former Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy;

Current Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, if he is interested and if Chicago lets him out of his remaining three years;